Black September (Jordan 1970): Palestinian Massacre and Pakistan’s most Islamist general Zia -ul- Haq written by Amna Mushtraiz
The Black September conflict (September 1970 – July 1971) was a short but bloody civil war in Jordan pitting King Hussein’s Hashemite government and army against Palestinian fedayeen (guerillas of the PLO and allied groups). In the wake of Israel’s 1967 conquest of the West Bank, Jordan absorbed some 200,000 Palestinian refugees. Many joined Yasser Arafat’s Fatah and other Palestinian factions (PFLP, DFLP, etc.), whose leadership set up headquarters in Amman and northern Jordan by 1970. These fighters formed an autonomous “state within the state” – controlling refugee camps and even parts of Amman, armed and organized with relative impunity. Tensions had been rising for years: Fedayeen units openly challenged King Hussein, spoke of overthrowing the monarchy, and even compared Amman to “Hanoi” in the Palestinian revolution. The Jordanian army (many units led by Bedouin officers) bristled at this and demanded reassertion of royal authority. By 1970, King Hussein’s government and A...